Under The Min Min Lights
by ilovenascar
Summary: A different way of 'Seeing the Lights'. Claire & Alex, Tess & Nick.
1. Chapter 1

Tess walked back beside Alex as he carried her sister and new baby niece. She knew Claire was safe, that Alex would never drop her, and, despite herself, kept thinking about Nick and the events of the silo. Nick hadn't dropped her either, never had. Every time the chips were down and she really needed someone, the two people that had been there for her since she arrived back home were Claire and Nick. Dave's proposition scared her, not because it was so fast, but because it made her realize things she didn't want to remember. The truth of the matter was, despite everything they'd said, everything they'd done, she couldn't get past loving Nick just like Claire and Alex couldn't get past loving each other. 

As the figures neared Nick enough that he could make out what they were, he realized what had happened. The girls were always so connected, more than even he and Alex were, and, despite the two weeks that Claire was still supposed to have, given the day the rest of them had had, the baby's birth actually made sense. He walked to meet them and held the doors open for Alex, who was carrying Claire and the baby, and Tess. She looked glad to see him, which gave him hope, but their conversation could wait.

Alex carried Claire and the baby upstairs, almost oblivious to the fact that Nick was there, much less that Tess had stayed downstairs with him. He gently lay her down on her bed and she held the baby close. "Do you need anything?" He asked, not knowing how long she'd been out there, if she still hurt, or if she wanted to be left alone.

"Do you have a date?"

Alex paused, feeling guilty. It wasn't as if he'd been cheating on Claire, there was technically nothing to cheat on, but all the same, the guilty feeling crept over him. It was one of the reasons he never told her he'd slept with Sandra, that and he didn't want to upset her. Still, he'd been running around like a fool and now he couldn't picture ever wanting to be anywhere besides here with her and Charlotte. "No."

"Can you stay?" Claire hated herself for sounding so weak and wanted to blame it on how tired she felt.

"Of course." He smiled, not wanting to be anywhere else. He brushed a sweaty strand of brown hair out of the eyes he loved so much. "Hungry?" She shook her head, making a face. "Tired?" She nodded. "Go to sleep." He kissed her temple gently.

"Meg. Where are Meg and the others?"

"Nick and Tess will find them. Don't worry. Just sleep." He looked down at the sleeping angel that, mercifully, looked exactly like Claire and not a thing like Peter. "She already is." Claire smiled, looking down at the baby, and held the hand Alex had near her before falling to sleep.

* * *

Tess didn't quite know how to start. "Have you seen Meg and the others?"

Nick shook his head. "Not since Wilgul." He still couldn't believe how close he'd come to losing her, much too close. "Dave was here." He wanted to be fair, do the right thing in telling her that, but it irked him that Dave didn't even think Tess was worth waiting around for and he was the one who had her.

"I'm sure they'll come in."

Nick nodded. "Claire's okay? We don't need to call a doctor?"

"In the morning. You know Claire. I'm not a bit surprised she had Charlotte in a paddock."

Nick smiled, surprised Claire hadn't had the baby riding on a horse, if such a thing were possible. "Charlotte?"

Tess smiled as well, nodding. "Charlotte Prudence McLeod." She couldn't have been prouder to be an aunt and she was more than honored that her only niece was named after her.

"Tess..." He paused, not knowing exactly what to say. She was with Dave, he had no right to feel this way, yet he did. He cast a look towards the stairs where Alex had taken Claire. "He's already acting like a proud dad."

"Good." There was no doubt in her mind, even before she'd seen Alex with Claire, that he was a dad. "He'll be a good one."

"Yeah." Much better than Harry, he wanted to say, but didn't, out of some loyalty he still felt to his father. "So that makes me a new uncle and you a new aunt."

"Nick." Tess looked at him. "Not that I mind, but..." 'Why did you really come?' hung in the air.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." It wasn't a lie, exactly; it just wasn't the whole truth.

She was glad Dave wasn't there, but she couldn't bring herself to say that or that she was glad Nick was there. "You wanna camp out?" She didn't want him to leave, was exhausted, and knew it probably wasn't a good idea for them both to sleep in her bed.

A few moments later, they had raided the ice box for a small supper of leftovers, set up a fan, and made mats in the floor in Jack's office. "Not exactly what I thought you meant by camping out," Nick said, not complaining, as he lay at a safe but comfortable distance from her.

Tess reached out and touched the desk, remembering being a little girl with Claire. "I just needed to be in here." Alex had never come down from Claire's room and Tess had decided to back off, give them space, hoping that they'd get back together.

"I never really believed in guardian angels, I always thought they were more your kind of bunk...stuff, but..." He was almost tempted to believe that the min min lights was Jack's way of watching over his girls. "With everything that happened today..."

"Yeah." Tess had been thinking the same thing. "I wish she could see him." There was no doubt in her mind that their father could see them, but she felt Jack's absence strongly that night and knew her sister did too. Nick reached out and put his hand over hers. She smiled, holding his hand, as they both fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Claire watched as Alex walked around the yard, carefully carrying Charlotte with him, talking to her, Roy following. Since the moment Charlotte was born, if she was outside, Roy was with her. Since Alex had picked her up the first time, if Claire or Tess weren't holding her, he was. She loved watching them together, the closest thing to a father her little girl had. 

Tess sat down silently, aware of what her sister was watching. "He's good with her." Claire nodded. "Have you two talked?"

Claire shook her head. "We're going to wait the week." Alex had gotten tired of playing daddy before; she didn't want to set her daughter up to get her heart broken if he did again. Still, she had to admit, she loved having Alex around so much again.

"Can we talk?" She hadn't gotten up the nerve to tell her sister about her problem yet, wanting to wait as long as she could after Charlotte's birth, but she knew she'd have to give Dave an answer sometime.

Claire moved her chair where she could see Alex, Charlotte, and Tess all at the same time. "Okay."

"Dave asked me to marry him."

"What did you say?" She asked, hoping her fear didn't show in her voice. When Tess had first come to Drovers', Claire had tried everything to get her to go back to the city. Now the thought of Tess leaving terrified her.

"I didn't." She paused. "You know Meg was telling Jodi that she was so strong at Wilgul and you asked what happened?" Claire nodded. "I fell into the silo. It was like quicksand; I thought..." Claire nodded, remembering the feeling she'd gotten around that time, and held her sister's hand. "Nick went in to get me. He was so scared, I was so scared, he was holding me..."

"You still love him." Claire's voice was matter-of-fact, like there hadn't been a doubt in her mind.

"The night Charlotte was born, I was glad Dave wasn't there and that Nick was. Nick's the one who's there when I need him. I've put him through so much and he still hangs around. I keep putting Dave off. If I loved him, wouldn't I jump at the proposal? Or is it the same thing that made me run out on Nick?"

Somehow Claire managed not to beg Tess to stay. "I can't tell you what to do, Tess."

"I know. But what do you think?"

"You know what I think. I want you to be happy. You found a great guy who loves you, shares your interests, and you love to be around. There aren't many of those." She smiled as she watched Alex and Charlotte. "Don't let him go."

* * *

Nick wasalone at Wilgul, relaxing after his day of work, reading a book about organic farming Tess had loaned him. Both he and Alex had an open invitation to dinner at Drover's every night, had for years, but he'd declined. As much as he wanted to see Tess, he didn't want to push. She had to make up her own mind; he'd learned that the hard way. Alex, on the other hand, had been at Drover's almost all day, not for the first time that week.

"Charlotte go to bed?" Nick asked as Alex came in, tossing his hat aside where one of them would have to pick it up later.

Alex smiled. "Yeah." He'd stayed a little bit after, but Claire was still tired and Tess had been silent, a rarity for her.

"She's a beautiful little girl." After Alex agreed, Nick said, "Looks just like her mom." He caught something in his brother's face. "So what are you going to tell Claire?" Alex had told him that he and Claire were waiting the week, which Nick thought was ridiculous.

"I don't know." It wasn't the matter of still wanting to date; it was a secret he had. "I wanted to marry her when she came home from the hospital."

"So what's changed?"

Everything, Alex wanted to say, thinking ofhis mother, Harry, and Sandra."Sandra. She's not Claire, she'll never be Claire, but...I think I should tell Claire what happened. I mean, she could find out some other way."

"How do you think she'll react?" Alex gave him a look. They both knew their friend well enough to know exactly how she'd react. "Who, besides us, knows?"

"Just you, me, and Sandra. Maybe Harry."

"I'm not stupid enough to tell her and, regardless of what you think of Dad right now, I can't see him hurting Claire." Harry had ended one of his profitable business dealings in order to avoid hurting their friend.

"What about Sandra?"

Nick gave him a look. The two women had a running feud going from when they were in school together and had only gotten worse in recent years. Nick even thought that it might have helped Sandra go after Alex when no other woman wanted anything to do with him. "I think you tell her the truth. It was one time, it was while you guys weren't together, and you love Claire, not Sandra, right?"

Alex nodded, relieved. "Right." He paused. "Tess asked about you tonight. Dave wasn't there."

"I think they're having a fight. She says they're not, but..."

"I heard what happened the other day."

Nick nodded, still not wanting to remember how pale and still Tess had been when he dug her out again. For a moment, he really thought he would lose her. He remembered the feeling as they held each other on the rope ride up. "Yeah."

"You okay?" It was a real question, asked by a concerned brother. Alex remembered far too well how he'd felt when Claire had fallen off her horse at the cross-country race and knew his brother must have felt the same seeing Tess like that.

"I think so, yeah." He remembered sleeping in the floor of Jack's office with Tess' hand in his own. "Just a lot of old memories. Tess is with Dave now and that's the way it is." He remembered Tess telling him she loved him as he covered her with the blanket, but that was months ago. Things changed.


	3. Chapter 3

On Charlotte's week-old birthday, Claire got up for the one o'clock and three o'clock cries, but panicked when her eyes opened a third time and saw that it was already seven o'clock in the morning. Charlotte hadn't cried and, for a moment, she was petrified that she'd stopped breathing in the middle of the night or that something had happened. She followed the faint sounds of chatter to her daughter's room, expecting it to be Tess or maybe even Meg, not prepared to see Alex rocking in the chair, holding Charlotte carefully, talking to her. She leaned against the wall, staying quiet and out of the way, just watching the picture the two made as a smile ran across her face. 

After awhile, Alex realized he was being watched and looked in Claire's direction, smiling. "You're up. We were being quiet." He talked to Charlotte again, the little girl grasping his finger. "Mum needed her rest, didn't she?" The baby smiled at him and Claire came into the room.

"You're good with her."

"She's a good girl. Yes, she is."

Claire smiled again. She was well aware that it had been a week and what she wanted his answer to be, but she had no idea how to ask. "Thank you...for this morning, this week." Admitting she needed help had never been her long suit, but being a mum was more difficult than she'd ever imagined. She couldn't have made it through without Meg, without Tess, and without him as well.

"Claire." He studied her. "I want to be the dad. For real this time, not just to keep the...nob...away."

"Really?" She'd been scared his answer would be no and wondered if this made it more difficult. She knew he loved Charlotte and the baby loved him as well, but they would share a child together. It was difficult enough pretending nothing had changed when they were just best friends.

He nodded, gently putting Charlotte back in her crib so that she could sleep some more as she started yawning. He returned to face Claire, who was still standing, and said, "I'm love you, Claire. Not just as a friend. I must have always,I just...I just never really realized it until this whole mess got started, until I almost lost you twice." Once to Peter, once in the riding accident. "That's why I volunteered the first time. Then, most of the time,I forgot that we weren't telling the truth, forgot that Charlotte wasn't mine.When my parents...I reverted to old habits. I'm sorry..."

Claire listened to him in wonder and amazement until he got to the apology and then placed her hand on his cheek. "It's okay."

"I did something awful, Claire..." He started again.

"You know what's sort of crazy?" He didn't answer. "I thought before you were just asking to marry me and being a good dad because when you lied to Peter, you got caught by your parents, everyone really. Or that you were just doing it to help me. The night you told me we were just pretending..." She paused. "That's when I found out I loved you. Timing kinda sucked, right?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her own around his shoulders, just holding each other.

* * *

Meg Fountain looked up as Tess came downstairs. "There you are. Haven't seen Claire and Charlotte this morning; she's usually sitting down here when I come in." Claire had looked so bad lately that she hoped Charlotte had given her a reprieve. 

"Alex came over earlier to help with Charlotte so Claire could sleep in."

"I'll start on breakfast," she said, setting the eggs down, not particularly surprised about Alex's early and unannounced visit. She was more surprised when a meal went by without Alex or Nick dropping in. A few weeks ago, she would have said Dave as well, but she hadn't seen him since Charlotte was born. "Coffee?"

"No, thanks. I'm going to start on chores." She was anxious to see the red ute pull up, anxious for Nick to arrive.

She walked outside and did her morning chores before starting on some of Claire's. When she looked up, Nick was standing right next to her. "Didn't hear you come in." She smiled.

"I was quiet." He didn't smile back. "Claire's chores?"

She nodded. "She's been so tired lately. Alex came over to help this morning; I thought I'd help out here."

It sounded like Tess, always worried about Claire, just as Claire was about Tess. "You wanted to see me?"

"Dave and I broke up." She'd called him that morning, told him the 'it's not you, it's me', only this time, it was true. She could marry him, even if she did like him; it just wasn't enough. He wasn't Nick.

"I see." He was sorry if she'd gotten hurt, but he wasn't sorry that Dave was out of the picture.

"I didn't love him. Not the way it's supposed to be anyway." Nick nodded and she paused, getting very quiet, a rarity for her. "I've got some scars."

"What?" He thought she meant from the accident a week ago.

"I've got a few scars, but nothing I can't get past...with a little help."

He smiled, remembering the last time one of them had said that, and realizing what it meant, and coming up with his own reply. "It's a big project...but nothing I can't handle." She smiled, hugging him, kissing his cheek. He held her close, kissing her lips softly, and she gave into the kiss, remembering all the good things they'd shared together, none of the bad. She got the same feeling she had when she'd returned to Drover's after being gone so many years, a frightened yet warm, thrilling, feeling that rushed through her veins and heart. Nick was like being home, back where she belonged.


End file.
